Bruce Springsteen Discusses ‘High Hopes’

Bruce Springsteen’s upcoming album ‘High Hopes’ is a collection of covers and outtakes, with a few reworkings of existing songs. In a new interview, Springsteen discussed how the process of recording it differed from his previous practices, calling the album an “anomaly.”

The project began when Springsteen was listening to some unreleased material while on the road in 2012. “The songs were relatively current and had a similar sound picture," he told Rolling Stone. "I was interested in putting this material together in some form because it sounded like it all fit together.”

In March 2013, Springsteen and the E Street Band booked studio time in Australia to build on the tracks and cut some new songs -- the first time in his career he had ever recorded while on the road. Overdubs were made in New Jersey and Los Angeles during tour breaks. The inclusion of Tom Morello on guitar helped bring some of the songs to life, from his arrangement of the horn-driven title track to his guitar on the electrified take of ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad,’ a highlight of the shows at which Morello guested.

“[Morello] became a filter that I ran my music through," Springsteen said. "He would send the songs back to me with a very current slant on them ... He jolted those songs into the now. He's one of the few guitarists that creates a world by himself. It's like the Edge or Pete Townshend or Johnny Marr. The E Street Band is a big house, but when Tom is onstage, he builds another room."

Springsteen said that even though nothing is booked yet, he is looking to play more shows in the U.S. in 2014, with the probability of hitting markets the ‘Wrecking Ball’ tour missed, like Texas and Florida. His manager, Jon Landau, also confirmed that plans are in the works for a box set commemorating ‘The River’ and “some major work” devoted to Springsteen's first two albums.